1961 Washington Senators season
Expansion Senators debut with 61–100 record.
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The 1961 Washington Senators debuted as a new team after the old franchise moved to Minnesota. They tied for ninth in the ten-team American League with a 61–100 record, finishing 47 1/2 games behind the champion New York Yankees. That year was their only one at Griffith Stadium before relocating to D.C. Stadium in 1962.
Offseason
The Senators and the Los Angeles Angels were the first American League expansion teams, both participating in the league's first expansion draft. Washington used its first pick on pitcher Bobby Shantz from the New York Yankees, but traded him two days later to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Harry Bright, Bennie Daniels, and R. C. Stevens, all of whom played for the Senators in 1961.
A 1992 Associated Press article noted that the Senators drafted for experience and were burned when players such as Dave Sisler, John Klippstein, Tom Sturdivant, Dale Long, Bobby Klaus, and Gene Woodling did not produce. On November 28, 1960, Ray Semproch was drafted from the Los Angeles Dodgers in the rule 5 draft. On December 14, 1960, the expansion draft also saw Jim King drafted from the Cleveland Indians and Coot Veal from the Detroit Tigers.
Regular season
The 1961 Washington Senators were an expansion team, so expectations were low. They ended the season tied for last place in the American League with the Kansas City Athletics, finishing nine games behind the other expansion club, the Los Angeles Angels. A standout was pitcher Dick Donovan, who led the league in earned run average and WHIP, earned an All-Star selection, and placed 17th in MVP voting. In their very first game, the traditional Presidential Opener on April 10, 1961, the Senators fell 4-3 to the Chicago White Sox.
Leadoff hitter Coot Veal recorded the franchise's first hit, an infield single, and Washington built a 3-1 lead after two innings. But four errors led to two unearned runs, allowing Chicago to rally. Roy Sievers, a former star for Washington's earlier franchise, drove in two White Sox runs with a home run and a sacrifice fly. This was the last Presidential Opener held at Griffith Stadium and the first where President John F. Kennedy threw out the ceremonial first ball.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: 1961 Washington Senators season (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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